Trials of a Red Headed Chunin
by xXxLadyFreakyStyleyxXx
Summary: Sachi Uzumaki was separated from her twin brother Naruto when they were two years old by order of the Third Hokage and the Leaf Village council. After 13 long years of solitude in the grass village, she's been allowed to return to her home for good. She soon finds herself wrapped up in all sorts of things and meeting all sorts of people. One, giving her world quite a spin. GaaraxOC


**This is my first Naruto fic which has come to be after years of watching/reading the series so be gentle, kay? I hope you guys still like it ^^** **I don't own Naruto or Naruto Shippuden or any of it's characters or franchises, just my OC. The series belongs to Masashi Kishimoto entirely. **

Chapter One

A bright eyed kunoichi with fiery red hair and a wild grin looked over her village with great fondness as she stood atop one of it's buildings. She crouched low to the stone shingles of the roof top and launched herself into the air and eased her way to the ground. It had been a long time since she had been in Konoha, her home village. Three years to be exact. As she walked through the sleepy streets of the leaf village she made sure to keep her mind focused on her objective.

"My, my, nothing's changed at all." She mused to herself quietly as she passed the many shops and establishments in the small strip.

It had been a while since the red headed shinobi had been able to see her village again. About three years to be exact. However on a larger scale it had been ten in total. Three years ago Konoha was the host to the chunin exams for genin in her class and she had come to take the test with her twin brother who had remained in the village while she was to live in the land of wind by order of the Third Hokage and the Hidden Leaf Village council. She had always wondered why they kept them separate, it would ultimately benefit the leaf village more if she were to stay by her brother's side considering what she was and how it effected him as well.

A sigh escaped her lips. _It's not healthy to dwell on the past but, I suppose it's not really in the past considering the circumstances. _

It was early in the morning so the market district wasn't as busy as it normally would be. The chunin was grateful for that, her task would not be so easy if it was crowded and bustling with people. The sun had yet to rise above the horizon. The same could be said for the majority of Konoha's residence and their beds. The red head giggled at the thought and continued towards her destination.

As she passed a tea house on the corner of an intersect, she couldn't help but be drawn in by the enticing aroma of jasmine and chamomile. Jade eyes switched between the road and the tea house entrance with debate. With a weighty sigh, she adjusted the strap on on her knapsack and parted the thick curtains to enter the establishment. It didn't take too long after she had seated herself at a table to the far left to be tended to by a cheery waitress. She leaned back in the chair and let her head fall back, long crimson hair swaying lazily as it was let loose from a ponytail.

Upon sitting up she noticed that she was being eyed by a curious chunin who sat three tables away from her. She couldn't tell who because her nearsightedness only let her see so far with out her glasses and she didn't feel like squinting. Once retrieving her glasses from her bag, she wasted no time in putting them on and a wide smile spread across her face as she immediately recognized her 'admirer'. The boy stood up once he'd gathered that she remembered him and walked over to sit with her.

"It's been a while," The boy greeted her with a tired warmth. "Sachi Uzumaki."

The kunoichi smiled and nodded. "Hasn't it? It's good to see you Shikamaru."

They shook hands cordially just as the waitress brought a steaming cup of acacia tea and a small clay tea pot. Sachi filled the cup of the chunin who sat across from her to the brim with the soothing liquid and they continued to talk.

"How did everything going with your training? Did the Grass Village treat you good?" He inquired before taking a long sip.

Sachi felt her eye lids lower as her jade orbs grew dull at the mere mentioning of the village. She didn't hate living there but it was no walk in the park either. The people there were always hard to read and so cryptic, it got tiring after a while. She was glad to be back in the presence of normal and more simpler people like Shikamaru.

"It's okay I suppose. I'm gonna miss some things about that old place, but it's good to be home." Sachi closed her eyes and felt the smile form on her face which made her even happier and it grew wider.

Shikamaru let half a smile come across his face. "That's good. I was glad to see you at the chunin exams last year, even better to see you pass."

"Me too!" She replied excitedly. "It was even cooler to have you as my proctor. Though I have to admit, it was weird seeing you in 'serious teacher mode'."

They both laughed lightly, sharing in the amusement and nostalgia of the memory. Shikamaru was there when she was defeated in the preliminaries back when she took the chunin exams with them the first time three years ago. Him and Naruto were devastated when they watched her get carried off on a stretcher by the medical ninja after her match. She had gotten beaten down real bad and the village council decided to suspend her from taking the exam again next year so as not to endanger her life. Impressively enough, when she came to take it again last year she hadn't let what had happened before scare her.

Sachi had come back fired up and raring to go, just like her brother, and sure enough she passed the exam. Shikamaru had watched from start to finish, being her proctor and an old acquaintance, so it wasn't too surprising to find that they'd become quick friends while she stayed in the village. He admired her guts and her perseverance, it also helped that she'd gotten the more minuscule share of the hyper activeness her brother had which suited Shikamaru just fine.

"Yeah the exams will do that to you." The chunin took another sip of his tea and let out a warm breath of content. "It's serious business, too serious for me thank god the exams are over."

Sachi laughed and shook her head, eyeing the few stray tea stalks that floated in her cup. "Still the same lazy dude like always, eh Shikamaru?"

He eyed her curiously before she let out a soft laugh and waved her hand in dismissal.

"It's okay, I like that about you anyways. It makes hanging out with you easy, I think that's why I prefer your company so much..." She propped her hand under her chin and furrowed her eyebrows in thought.

He lowered his head and let out a short chuckle. "What, are you not sure?"

She looked up and shook her head. "No I'm sure, I'm just trying to think of someone I hang out with besides you."

"Well what about Naruto?" He asked.

Sachi gulped lightly and put the tea cup to her lips to take another sip but found she had already taken the last sip. She hesitated for a moment and let out a small sigh before setting the cup down.

"I dunno, I haven't seen him in a while. When I came back to the village he was always so busy training." She rubbed her arm uncomfortably and shifted a little in her chair.

"Plus we can't really forget that ten year gap now can we?" She mumbled dejectedly.

Shikamaru felt the corners of his mouth curve downward at her sudden dispirited mood. He should've known better than to bring up Naruto. He'd always been a touchy subject because of what had happened between them when they were little kids. When the Hokage sent her off to the land of wind when she was two. He didn't really know what to say to her at this point to make her feel better so he took the more logical approach.

"Well he's coming back from a mission today, I'd say pretty soon too if I'm not mistaken. Let's go meet him at the gate and you can find out for yourself." He offered casually.

Sachi's eyes widened immediately upon the mentioning of the idea and she lowered her head a little so that her hair covered her face, making her expression unreadable. It was a risky move but she'd have to see him sooner or later. The village was pretty big but now that she was living there for good this had to be done and now was the time. She let out a shaky breath and raised her head. Her shoulders drew back and she sat up confidently, her eyes set in focus.

"Let's go."

After Shikamaru courteously offered to cover both their tabs, they departed from the tea house and headed toward the village gate at a leisurely pace. There was really no need to run, the team wasn't expected to be back until a little later anyways so they may as well take their time. Shikamaru put his hands in his pocket and glanced over at Sachi. She seemed a bit nervous but her brow was set straight in confidence and her green eyes glowed with determination. This comforted him in his decision to push her to see her brother again. He felt kind of bad at first when he had gauged her initial reaction to the idea but now he was sure that it was good idea.

As the sun barely peaked over the horizon it lit Konoha with a warm light and bathed the village in a pale gold that Sachi appreciated greatly. In some ways, it had made her a bit more confident about what she was doing. With each step her and Shikamaru took she felt more and more sure of herself and she liked the feeling better than what she had felt back in the tea house and she slowly began to smile. She was returning back to her old self.

"So Shikamaru," The dark haired chunin raised a brow at her. "How've you been all this time? Did Lady Tsunade give you your own squad to lead yet?"

He scoffed at the mere thought and shook his head. "Nah, I convinced her I was far better off in the strategic defense department and luckily she believed me."

Sachi laughed and shoved him playfully with her elbow. "You lazy old man, what about that friend of yours I met last year?"

"You mean Akiko? Yeah she's got one, a bunch of crazy little punks. Her's is the only squad that has a male med ninja in the place of a kunoichi so at least she has that going for her."

Sachi looked at him in astonishment. "A boy kunoichi? What's his name?"

"A new genin who's family came out here recently. They're from the western part of the land of fire and they wanted their son to be trained in one of the five great Shinobi villages. His name's Hiraku Mur." He explained as they walked across a bridge.

"That's great! Akiko's so lucky." Sachi crossed her arms and felt her eyes narrow in jealousy.

Shikamaru laughed. "Do you want a genin squad then?"

"What? Hell no, I don't have the patience to deal with brats all day and night let alone on missions."

The pair found themselves laughing at the statement a bit longer than expected but eventually the laughter faded into light sounds of amusement before subsiding completely. Much to Sachi's surprise, they had arrived at the gate a lot sooner than she had thought. Perhaps that tea house wasn't too far from here. As they approached the gate she noticed a tall man with long with hair stood silhouetted brilliantly by the luminescent glow of the warm gold that was slowly becoming brighter as it enveloped the village. He was reading a small little book as he leaned against one of the large red wooden supports of the gate.

It took Sachi a few minutes as they drew closer but once she recognized the man, as well as actually see him, she felt overjoyed and ran to him. Shikamaru watched incredulously as she took off toward the man as eagerly as she did. Her small frame crashed into his and almost knocked the book out of his hand as she gripped his arm as much as her lithe arms allowed her.

"Hey what do you think you're doing?" The man chastised her, his brow furrowed in irritation.

"Master Jiraiya, it's me! Sachi!" She chirped, beaming up at him with jade eyes aglow with happiness.

The older man looked at her more carefully for a moment before breaking out into a grin and wrapping his arms around her in a tight hug.

"Sachi I can't believe how much you've grown! The last time I saw you, you were this dewy eyed little girl in the grass village." He recollected rubbing her head affectionately.

Sachi leaned into the touch and smiled widely. "Yup! I'm a chunin now!"

He chuckled softly. "A chunin, huh? I've clearly miss out on a lot, perhaps we can catch up some time."

She nodded and buried her face back in his chest and hugged him tightly. Sachi had a great attachment and love for Master Jiraiya. Under Konoha's radar, he had visited her often in the grass village when ever he took a break from his travels. Over the years he was somewhat of a bright face in a strange place for her and he had become sort of a father figure for her as he would take the time to make sure she was safe and well taken care of where she lived. When he visited her he regaled her with stories of his travels and every once in a while stories of her brother's endeavors and progress and she loved it.

After Jiraiya met Naruto he immediately began to dig up some information about his sister once he found out the leaf village had separated the two. He was glad to see her in such good spirits. His lapse in visits with her for the past two years, what with his special training with Naruto, had a been a concern that had plagued his mind but now the guilt was lifted when he saw her smile that way.

"Are you here to see Naruto?" He inquired carefully, not knowing if this was still a gray area for her.

Her lips formed a thin line for a moment and her grip loosened on the Sanin's torso but she looked up at him and nodded assuredly, her eyes dead set in determination. It would make sense for him to be here waiting for Naruto. He'd grown a close attachment to Jiraiya just as she had. It seemed that no matter how much time they spent apart they always seemed to have common interests, or so she had been told by Jiraiya once when she was younger. She liked to remember it though because just the thought of it seemed to comfort her.

"Are you nervous Sachi?" Shikamaru asked.

Sachi turned to see he had been watching the spectacle from a foot's distance away and still had a hint of amusement in his features. She nodded and looked ahead toward the trail that lead to the village. The same trail she had taken so long ago. It seemed to discomfort her and even made her feel slightly uneasy seeing it from this familiar perspective but she shook it off and focused on what she was here for. She was here to see her big brother and hopefully, he'd want to see her too.

"Don't worry, it'll be fine." The dark haired chunin assured her.

She stood in between the pair for what seemed like a very long time when in reality it had only been a few minutes. The suspense was killing her though, constantly watched the road for any signs of movement at all. Her eyes flicked to every sudden movement; leafs falling, wind rustling the trees, squirrels scurrying across the forest floor. Sachi sighed in exasperation, if Naruto didn't show up soon she was gonna go nuts. A half hour passed and everything seemed to be quiet and void of sound for a moment and then Sachi heard the soft thud of a book being closed.

She turned to see Jiraiya pocketing his book and looking ahead as the wind picked up and scattered leaves everywhere. She glanced toward Shikamaru and noticed he was eyeing the Sanin carefully and with the same inquiry she was sure she had in her eyes at the moment.

"Master Jiraiya?" She asked carefully.

He glanced at her quickly before turning his attention back toward the trail that led outside the gate. He simply smiled and nodded toward the trail.

"He's here Sachi."

Sachi narrowed her eyes at the small figures that seemed to be getting closer and closer by the minute. One in particular, was a bright orange she could not miss. She gulped softly and stood up a little straighter than before.

_Well, _She thought. _Here goes nothing._


End file.
